


life in eight stages and a thousand moments

by heihua



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-13
Updated: 2014-07-13
Packaged: 2018-02-08 15:09:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1945800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heihua/pseuds/heihua
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reiji learns, forgets and remembers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	life in eight stages and a thousand moments

**Author's Note:**

> I'm tired, this story has been sitting on my computer for a couple of days at least and I am also in desperate need for more Arc-V fanfiction.
> 
> This is not a good combination.

i.

Reiji is two when he learns responsibility.

 

It comes in the form of a baby born several months too early, covered in too many blankets and Reiji’s hand-me-downs.

"Little," he mumbles as he wraps his arms around cloth and flesh. In his tiny arms, this baby is even tinier.

"That’s right," Mama says, holding them both in her lap. "He’s your little brother, Yuya."

 

 

ii.

Reiji is three when he learns love.

 

It comes in the form of the last pudding cup he gives to Yuya instead of eating it himself because the smile he receives in return is worth the world.

 

 

iii.

Reiji is four when he learns affection.

 

It comes in the form of an instinctual promise that he cannot put into words but seals with a kiss to a crying Yuya’s forehead as he holds his little brother tight through a thunderstorm.

 

 

iv.

Reiji is seven when he learns admiration.

 

It comes in the form of his and Yuya’s father dancing across the Action Field, side-by-side with his monster as he declares that the fun has just begun.

 

 

v. 

Reiji is thirteen when he learns sorrow.

 

It comes in the form of jeering taunts and a crying Yuya whose hand he holds so that, he too, will not disappear to somewhere Reiji cannot reach.

 

 

vi.

Reiji is still thirteen when he learns truth.

 

It comes in the form of a tall woman with cold eyes and snakes that wrap around her feet. She smiles at him, promising a bright future and a better place than where he is now because as her son, he deserves it.

"But what about Yuya?"

The woman frowns and says she has no need for Yuya.

Yuya clings to his hand and Reiji holds it tight because he is Yuya’s  _older brother_ —he is the one that must protect Yuya from the world that calls their father a coward. Except Reiji is not strong, he is not the invincible and amazing older brother Yuya looks up to as fiercely as he looked up to their father, Sakaki Yusho.

 

 

vii.

Reiji is fourteen when he learns abandonment.

 

It comes in the form of a forgotten family photo that lies covered in dust in the bottom drawer of his work desk at LDS.

 

 

viii.

Reiji is sixteen when he remembers family.

 

It comes in the form of two pudding cups and Yuya leaning against him as they sit on the couch, watching their father’s old duels on TV.

Reiji wraps his scarf around Yuya and they fall asleep, their empty pudding cups holding muted reflections of the myriad of rainbows that leap from their father’s hands.


End file.
